The present disclosure relates generally to tire removal tools, and more particularly to tire removal tools for removing an outside dual wheel on a truck.
Large vehicles, such as semi-trailer trucks and heavy load haulers usually have multiple sets of dual wheels to support the vehicle and load. Dual wheels are a pair of tire and wheel assemblies that are mounted immediately adjacent to one another on a single axle hub. These assemblies are able to bear greater loads than single wheels and also provide redundancy so that if one of the two tires fails, the second will continue to support the vehicle and load. This redundancy prevents loss of control of the vehicle and allows the vehicle to travel to a facility for repair. In dual wheel assemblies, the tires nearest to the body of the vehicle are referred to herein as the innermost wheels and the tires farthest from the body of the vehicle are referred to herein as the outermost wheels.
Each wheel of each dual wheel assembly includes a rim and a tire. As shown in FIG. 5, the rim 10 provides the structure and shape of the wheel, and the tire 14 covers the rim 10 to provide flexible, shock absorbing cushion to the wheel. The tires 14 used on modern vehicles are typically pneumatic tires made of a rubber material and including a tread 18 and a body 22. The tread 18 of the tire 14 provides traction for the tire 14 on the road surface and the body 22 of the tire 14 provides containment for compressed air. Portions of the body 22 of the tire 14 which contact the rim 10 are known as beads 26, and portions of the body 22 of the tire 14 between the beads 26 and the tread 18 are known as sidewalls 30. To ensure that beads 26 of the tire 14 fit tightly on the rims 10 of a wheel, beads 26 are typically made of high strength, low flexibility rubber and are typically reinforced with steel wire. This sturdy structure is intended to prevent the tire 14 from shifting or spinning on the rim 10 when the wheel rotates. If the beads 26 are not tight enough, friction between the traction of the tire 14 and the road will tend to prevent the tire 14 from rotating in unison with the rim 10.
When a tire on a large vehicle does need to be replaced, it is common to remove and replace just the tire, without removing the wheel rims. Replacing just the tires can be a faster and easier process due to the large size of the wheels and the difficulty of removing the wheels from the associated vehicle axles. However, because of the very tight fit between the beads and the rim, separating the beads from the rim is often the most difficult part of tire replacement. In particular, separating the inside bead, the bead that connects the tire to the rim on the side of the tire that is nearest to the body of the truck, is most difficult due to its inaccessible position. While some have attempted to separate the inside bead from the rim by driving wedges or forcing tire irons between the tire and the rim, these techniques are often ineffective and frequently cause damage to the tire and/or the rim. Accordingly, there is a need for a tool which can be used to easily separate the inside bead from the rim on a truck tire without damaging the tire or the rim.